JOURNAL OF THE BAPTIST MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION OF MISSISSIPPI

JANUARY 15, 2007 VOL. 61 NO. 2

2007 BMA of America Missions SymposiumHis Co-Mission our Go-Mission

Practical Helpfor Dealing withthe Issuesof Everyday Life

By Bobby L. HudgensMarch 4 launches a new Bible study theme

for adult Sunday School. The spring theme isWords to the Wise and is a topical analysis ofProverbs. In Proverbs God gives us advice on

practical issues of everyday life. Just a few ofthe titles are God’s Guide to Success, StartingChildren Out Right, Everybody Needs a Friend,Keep the Peace, Rage in a Bottle, and ParentalDelight.

These studies collect some of the divinewisdom for life found in Proverbs. Most of thebook offers tips for daily living in sentencesermons printed in random order. This seriespulls together these sentence sermons by theme,with emphasis on the most relevant issues oflife. The more we learn these Proverbs and liveby them, the more we will experience thegoodness of life.

Tools for TeachersTeachers will be interested to know that

each Bible study after the introductory studyfocuses on a verse from Proverbs to memorizefor life application. The following useful aidsare provided for teachers: two handouts con-taining all twelve memory verses and a calen-dar for reading a chapter every day that corre-sponds to the day of the month, and a visual toaid memorization and review. To take advan-tage of these resources teachers will need TheAdvancer, Adult Teacher’s Resource Kit, and/or the Adult Teacher’s E-Kit.

Another tool that will benefit teachers is theBPH Bible Atlas Visuals, which contains sev-eral charts that can be used with these studies.These excellent resources can be obtained bycalling 1-800-333-1442 or by logging on towww.bph.org.

An Idea for Gaining Student InterestHow about doing something special before

March 4 to get your class members interestedin the new Bible study series! You and otherclass leaders can make a special telephone callto each class member on roll describing thetheme and letting them know you care abouttheir involvement. Better still, before the newquarter begins, make a brief door-step visit toeach of your class member’s and prospect’s

home. This is a great opportunity to show themthat you love them and care about their spiri-tual growth by personally delivering a studentbook and quickly summarizing the theme ofthe series.

by Editor Don Brown

Temple Baptist Church of Little Rock, Ar-kansas was the site of the 2007 BMA ofAmerica Missions Symposium. Churches fromaround the nation and the world were repre-sented as the BMA of America Missions De-partment highlighted the worldwide missioneffort of our Association.

A number of America foreign missionariesas well as a good representation of foreignnational pastors and missionaries were in at-tendance.

The Tuesday evening service highlightedthe Youth of our Association and their con-tinuing interest and participation in world-wide missions. A crowd of over 500 were inattendance for this special service.

Monday evening and Tuesday's programconsisted of reports and messages from a num-ber of mission fields around the world.

The Monday evening service was openedand led by Donny Parrish with music and apraise service. Darlene Carey, long time BMA

continued on page 2

Dr. Fil Tabayoyong

A large crowd enjoyed the preaching, singing, reporting and information presented at the2007 BMA of America Missions Symposium held January 8 & 9 at Temple Baptist Church,Little Rock, Arkansas.

missionary to the Philippines spoke of herministry and future plans in Asia. Reportswere given by both Jennifer Bullock andCharles Costa, who are currently working inLebanon. Bro. Costa told of his efforts andplans to soon begin a work in Israel. God hasopened the door and the work looks promis-ing.

Dr. Fil Tabayoyong, a Philippine physicianwho previously worked with relief agencies inCambodia, was present. He spoke of his meet-ing BMA Missionary Doyle Moore and theirconversation that eventually led to Dr. Filassisting us in reaching people in Cambodia.Relief supplies were delivered to a remote areawhere individuals were literally starving. Thevillagers were helped by BMA relief effortsand have since renamed their village 'BMAVillage'.

Dr. Fil eventually was teminated from hisjob because of his work for Jesus Christ. Hewas told he could keep the job, if he would stopthe Christian work he was involved with. Herefused and this refusal has cost him his

livihood, but he has remained faithful to Christ.He is currently working with the BMA andthrough the ministry of BMMI he continues tohelp reach those in remote Cambodia.

Missionaries from Honduras, Panama, Ro-mania, the Czech Republic, India, Mexico,Philippines, North America and others gavereports, brought inspiring stories of their workand the blessings of God on their missionfields.

Special music was brought by a trio fromRomania - David, Geta and Daniel Olcean.They were a blessing and helped us see theresults and the need for mission outreach inEurope.

Missionary CommitteeThe midyear meeting of the BMA of

America Missionary Committee was held onWednesday morning. A budget of over 5 mil-lion dollars was approved. Executive DirectorGrady Higgs stressed the need for givng to

2 January 15, 2007 • Mississippi Baptist

Leave ItTo Cleaver

Tony Cleaver

Jacob & Hailey Norman

Michael & Shannon McClure

2007 MissionsSymposium

continued from page 1

reach this budget amount and how "50 Days ofPrayer and Giving" was vital to the financialhealth of our international mission work.

Resignations were accepted from threemissionaries: Tom Jopling in Hoduras, JamieHaguewood in Peru, and Jamie Thrasher - arecently elected support missionary to Mon-tana.

Two new North American missionaries wereelected. They are Jacob Norman who will

serve in Peyton, Colorado. He is currently themusic and youth minister at Calvary BaptistChurch, Morrilton, Arkansas, where RodneyCastleberry,his father-in-law is pastor. Bro.Noman and his wife Hailey have three chil-dren.

Also elected is Michael McClure and hiswife Shannon. They have one son. McClurecurrently is employed at Baptist Publishing

House and he will be going to the Chicago areato work with Missionary Rob Hager.

I Miss My BibleI miss my Bible. It had worn out, deterio-

rated to the point where I was going to have tobuy a new one. I did not want to purchase anew Bible. Those of you who are familiar withnew Bibles know the difficulties of finding theright passage in the new Bible. It’s not in thesame place it was in your old Bible. Those ofyou who buy new Bibles know how difficult itis to turn the pages of a new Bible. They sticktogether and you can turn one page and it goesfrom Genesis to Revelation with that one

simple page turn.My wife’s Bible was in much worse shape

than mine. That is quite an admission seeingthat I am a preacher/minister/Bible teacher/pastor. One might questionmy use of my Bible less thanmy wife. In my defense, herBible had more years on itthan mine. Her Bible had lostthe cover and it was not “safe”to use it any more for the wholething, binding and all, wasabout to deteriorate beyondrepair.

We decided for our Christmas present toeach other to send them off to have themrebound. The rebinding of our Bibles is quiteextensive. The new cover will be real andgenuine leather. That’s not what we had onour original covers. In fact this rebindingprocess will cost us more than the originalBible. We could both purchase new Bibles for

what the recovering will cost us for one. Theyhave been shipped off to the rebinding factory,and we hope to receive them quickly with newcovers with our names on the front in largerletters than original since our vision requiressuch size.

I miss my Bible. I have been trying to readfrom other Bibles for my devotional time. It’s

just not the same. I haveseveral Bibles in all versions,forms, shapes, and arrange-ments. It’s not the same asmy Bible. In my Bible I know“the passage I am looking for”is on the top left corner of theright hand page. Or the par-ticular verse that refers to “that

subject” is on the left hand page at the bottomright. In these Bibles I am using right now,those verses are not readily available to me asthey were in my old Bible.

For those of you who have your favorite oldBible, God bless you as you continue to read,study, meditate, and feed on the Scriptures.Continue to nourish your soul; let the Word ofGod guide your path; allow the Spirit of God

guidance in your behavior as you discover thepath of righteous living from the Bible. Readand read with vigorous dedication the wordsof the Living God from your Bible.

I miss my Bible. I know it will be returnedto me soon. My wife’s Bible will be returnedto her also. We will get a box in the mail toeagerly open to see our Bibles rebound in newcovers. We will quickly touch the new coverand turn to the old and familiar pages of our“old” Bible. Once again I will feel at home inthe Scriptures. Yes, there it is. There is “thatverse” down in the bottom corner where it hasbeen for so many years. I can find it now. I canreread it and better perhaps relearn it and stillbetter yet relive it in my walk with Christ.

Lord, God who breathed all Scripture, letme focus on your Word. I ask that I may takethe time to be with You in solitude as I read andstudy the Bible. I ask for behavior change inaccordance with your instructions. May mygood works shine as appropriate to one calledChristian. Thank you for my Bible. Thank youfor providing me and those gathered in count-less procession the Words of Life.

Sofilthy'sAttic

by BarbaraWhite

Super NannyThere is a TV program on each week by

this name. The premise is that a familywhose children are completely out of con-trol ask Super Nanny for help in gainingback control of their own kids.

This raises a lot of questions in mymind: 1. How in the Sam Hill do parentsallow their kids to get that far out of line? 2.Are they not embarrassed to have thisbehavior publicized nationwide? 3. Whatwould Fred and Icymae Walker (my par-ents) think of this show? oooooh, buddy!4. What does God think of this? We knowthe answer because we have many in-structions from His Word, one of which isProv. 23:13, "Withhold not correction fromthe child......."

Family groups say Dems are cutting free speechChristians call foul onproposal to prevent leadersfrom discussing issues

James Dobson, founder of the ColoradoSprings-based Focus on the Family organiza-tion, has been joined by other prominent pro-family leaders in calling on Christians to tellDemocrat leaders in Congress they don't likeproposed new limits on their freedom of speech.

"Clearly, the objective here is to hide whatgoes on from the public and punish and silencethose of us who would talk about what ourrepresentatives are doing," Dobson told hisaudience of several million listeners in hisspecial program about Senate Bill 1.

That proposal, sponsored by Sen. HarryReid, D-Nev., is listed as a proposal "To pro-vide greater transparency in the legislativeprocess," however Dobson was joined byAmerican Family Association ChairmanDonald Wildmon, Family Research CouncilPresident Tony Perkins and American ValuesPresident Gary Bauer in urging listeners toflood Capitol Hill with phone calls demandingthose speech limits be removed.

Bauer said the telephone number to call is:202-224-3121.

The provisions of the plan would requirethe pro-family groups to provide documenta-tion of their actions to the government anytime they try to spark any "grass-roots" action.

Phone calls, personal visits, e-mails, maga-zines, broadcasts, phone banks, appearances,travel, fund-raising and other items all wouldbe subject to government tabulation, verifica-tion and audits, Dobson said during the pro-gram.

"On and on it goes.""This legislation is on a fast track," Dobson

said, with a vote expected within a week. "Weneed about a million people to oppose it whilewe can still make a statement like this, becauseit may not be possible in the future."

Dobson said the bill, made the highestpriority in the Senate by Democrats who nowcontrol the handling of bills, does containsome good provisions aimed at cleaning uprecent lobbying scandals.

But it also has that Section 220, a provision

that would "severely limit the ability of Ameri-cans to stay abreast of important issues beingdiscussed."

That also would subject organizations suchas Focus to "miles of red tape" that couldcritically hamper their ability to rally constitu-ents to let Washington know their opinions.Violations could cost those organizations$100,000, he said.

"I'll tell you I'm just about as irritated as I'mgoing to get. ..." he said. "The Democrats anda few Republicans are trying now very, veryquickly to insulate themselves from the publicby muzzling people like us."

The ministries feel their work is needed,because the average American doesn't havetime to research each provision of the manylegislative proposals made every day. Groupslike Focus do that, and then alert their constitu-ents when they believe there is a problemdeveloping.

That's the message the Democrats wantstifled, Dobson said.

Dobson noted the American people havehad success in the past when advocates forfamily values such as Focus have alerted themto potential problems, and they've respondedby calling their representatives and senators.

One case was when a California Democrattried to "squash" home schooling in the UnitedStates with restrictive legislation.

"We and others let the world know about it.That bill was going to pass handily, but it gotonly one vote. That one vote was GeorgeMiller's. Everybody else ran for the tall grass,because we let people know about it," he said.

He cited a second time, when there was anattempt to lessen the penalties for child por-nography, and "the response from the publicwas overwhelming. The Justice Departmentphones were shut down for days. That is afunction we and other pro-family organiza-tions have provided, letting people know thethings that are done in secret in Washington."

"It's called free speech," he said. "The Demo-crats now are trying to take away that right andkeep people in the dark."

Bauer said members of Congress clearlyhave been upset in the past when "they've beencaught red-handed." He said this legislation"is motivated by that, they don't want the

average American to be told ... what is goingon in this city."

The Christian organization leaders notedthat local pastors, under certain circumstances,would be subject to the reporting and auditingrequirements of the plan if they would encour-age their congregations to call their senatorsabout marriage, life or other issues.

Wildmon said Washington is telling theAmerican public: "We don't want to hear fromyou, and this is the way we're going to handleit."

However, political groups such as theMoveOn.org, which is set up under a differentlegal structure and funded by George Soros todefeat President Bush and other conservatives

continued on page 4

3January 15, 2007 • Mississippi Baptist

SoutheasternBaptist College4229 Highway 15 NorthLaurel, Mississippi 39440, (601) 426-6346 Dr. Medrick Savell

President

Serving Christ With a Biblical World View In A Christian Atmosphere

New Year - New SemesterAt the time of this writing, we are

in the process of registration for thenew semester and the beginning ofclasses. Registration is open for an-other week. The number of studentsregistered so far is 70, with 19 new,first-time students. Others have saidthey are going to enroll. It looks as ifwe will have a few more in this Springsemester than we had in the Fall 2006semester (which was 70). We arethankful to the Lord for each of theseand thank everyone who worked, en-couraged students to come, providedfinancial assistance, or prayed for theenrollment.

Gifts to the College FoundationSeven more gifts to the College

Foundation have been received re-cently. One was given by a faithfulsupporter of Southeastern BaptistCollege. One was given in memoryof Dr. Jentry Bond; one in memory ofNeville and Ann Robinson; two inmemory of Bro. Edward Holloway,and two in memory of Bro. NorvelleJefcoat. Giving a contribution to theFoundation is a wonderful way tosupport the college for years to come.This money is invested, and the col-lege can use the interest that is earnedfrom it. We appreciate the growth inthe Foundation and ask others to con-

sider contributing to it, which willcontinue to bring in revenue for thecollege from now on.

College ChoirAt this time there are twelve in the

choir for the Spring semester. This isfour more than in the Fall. Contribu-tions to this effort continue to bereceived. Please pray for the growthin the choir. I am sure it will be ablessing to the college and to theLord.

Honors List for Fall 2006Listed below is Southeastern Bap-

tist College Honors list for the Fall2006 semester.

President’s ListJason Howard, 4.0Timothy Buchanan, 4.0Brianna Barnard, 4.0Wilfred Bridges, 4.0

Dean’s ListKelby Johnson, 3.80Tony McKeller, 3.80Kimble Allen, 3.75Jacob McKenzie, 3.63Vivian Stringer-Clark, 3.63Hubert Dyess, 3.60Gustavo Salazar, 3.60Zachary Dant, 3.54Janice Smith, 3.54.

News articles shouldcontain information that willbe of interest to the generalpublic who are not members

of the church that is reporting.

CHURCHNEWS

Missouri churches seek pastorThe Bethlehem Missionary Bap-

tist Church in Doniphan, Missouri, islooking for a pastor, due to the ageand heath of our current pastor. If theLord is leading you to pastor a smallcountry church and you are bi-voca-tional, please contact our deacon, HerbDale at 573-996-2580, or church clerk,Dian Decker at 573-996-5657 orddecker1954@hotmail.com. Youwrite us at Bethlehem MissionaryBaptist Church, Rt. 3 Box 276,Doniphan, MO 63935, % DianDecker.

First Missionary Baptist Churchof Matthews, in Matthews, Missouriis seeking a pastor. If you are inter-ested please contact Eugene Adamsat 573-471-0121 or 573-380-5696.You may reach us by Email ateadams2@hotmail.com.

Church seek music ministerCalvary Baptist Church in Horn

Lake, Mississippi, is seeking a fulltime music minister. Resumes maybe sent to Gocalvary@aol.com ormailed to 5145 Hwy 51 N. Horn Lake,MS 38637. Visit us on the web atgocalvary.org and click on the Per-sonnel Committee Link. Contact Pas-tor Anders Lee at 901-258-1812.

East Fulton Baptist Church, FultonIn December our youth had their

Christmas Program. We are veryproud of our youth and appreciatetheir hard work. In October our SilverSaints took the annual Fall FoliageTour. In November we had our an-nual Thanksgiving Dinner with BillBrooks. In December we went toShoney's for breakfast and our final

I Cried at the Funeral of Gerald R. FordBy Johnny Watts

Laurel, Mississippi

Did I cry because I knew him as apersonal friend? No. But as the gunssounded I began to imagine the greatdifference in the funeral of Mr. Fordand our Lord, Christ Jesus. Since ourLord really did not have a funeral aswe have today, may I include thesuffering and death of our Lord. In-stead of a twenty-one gun salute thecrowd mocked Him and hailed Himas King of the Jews - spoken in mock-ery.

There was a large military orches-tra that played beautiful music fittingfor the occasion, but Jesus had nomusic at the cross, just the rattling ofthe dice as the soldiers gambled forHis garment.

As the eulogy was given for Mr.Ford, I thought of the cursing . . . theridicule . . . the suffering of Jesus,very similar to Sadaam as he washung.

In the pomp and ceremony of Mr.Ford’s funeral I saw the flag drapedcasket, so much unlike the picture Iimagined of Jesus in His bloody,

shredded clothing.There were so many kind words

spoken of Gerald Ford and the recit-ing of his military conquest, but nokind words for Jesus - no reciting ofthe miracles done in His time of min-istry. Not one blind man came for-ward to acclaim that He had causedhim to see, not one crippled walkedup strong and straight and told thepeople to look at his legs and to pro-claim that he could now walk andJesus had done that for him. Had Ibeen t here in Washington, D.C., Iwould have wanted to salute such agreat Navy man. But as I watched, Iwanted rather to salute Jesus whosuffered so shamefully as he died, asHe died for the sins of the wholeworld.

Gerald Ford, in his flag drapedcasket, was placed in the Capital Ro-tunda so everyone who wished to paytheir respect might do so. Jesus hungthere on the cross, most of His bodyexposed as His life blood ran downthe old rugged cross.

Why did I cry at the funeral ofGerald R. Ford? He was one of theour past presidents and history records

that he was a good president. I am ofthe old school and I like to honor allthose who gave us such a great coun-try by their hard labor and giving ofthemselves.

The people loved Jesus Christ andthey washed His body, wrapped himin clean linen and placed Him in aborrowed tomb. No doubt He suf-fered more than most could bear as hedied for my sins and for the sins of thewhole world. Let us honor Him withthe honor He deserves. Let us exalthis Great Name not only in the church,but in our daily lives.

shopping at the Mall. Our church isactive in the Tombigbee BMA meet-ings and our WMA district meetings.We honor our widows and widowerseach November with dinner. Thisyear we went to the Country Gentle-men. Our church choir cantata inDecember was one of the best theyhave ever performed.

Our watch night service began at10:00 pm with the Watchmen's Quar-tet. At 11:00 we had church singingand a message by Bro. Bain. Wefollowed with a 24 hour prayer time.We are looking forward to a greatyear and welcome your visits at anytime.

Pastor Dewitt BainReporter Linda Daugherty

Vevie CarlisleCelebrates102nd Birthday

Todd’s Cabin in Soso was the set-ting for the celebration of VevieCarlisle’s 102nd birthday. Family andfriends enjoyed a steak dinner. In-stead of gifts she was showered withmoney which covered her jacket.

Mrs. Carlisle has been an activemember of Springhill Baptist Church,Laurel, since 1920. She loves herchurch and her church family. Be-cause of heath conditions she can nolonger attend services.

She was the wife of Dan Carlisleand the mother of seven children:Duette Gammage, Burdette Ellzie,Burl Carlisle (deceased), MiltonCarlisle, Elinor McKenzie, LucilleCarlisle (infant deceased), and DianeJohnson.

4 January 15, 2007 • Mississippi Baptist

Don J. Brown, EditorE-Mail - editor@msbaptist.orgWeb site www.msbaptist.org

USPS 353-960P.O. Box 8181

Laurel, Mississippi 39441-8000(601) 426-3293for Voice & Fax

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PRICE$20.00 Per Year by Mail

$10.00 Per Year by EmailCHURCH PLAN$ 1.20 Per Month

Published on the 1st and 15th of each month by the Baptist MissionaryAssociation of Mississippi. Periodical postage paid at Hattiesburg,Mississippi 39402.

Postmaster: Send address changes to the Mississippi Baptist Paper,P.O. Box 8181, Laurel, MS 39441-8000.

A Note From

BMA of America President David WatkinsMessengers from the churches of the BMA of America will gather in

Fort Smith, Arkansas, April 16-18, 2007. I hope your church will berepresented at the meeting. Our meeting is at the Holiday Inn and Conven-tion Center.

We are living in exciting and historic times for the Baptist MissionaryAssociation. Our God continues to open new doors of opportunity for ourchurches. Our leaders, the directors and staff of the departments andagencies, are working together to reach more andmore people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It isheartwarming to see the positive accomplishmentsof all our departments and agencies. God is blessingthe ministries of the BMA of America.

In Joshua 3:5, we read: “And Joshua said untothe people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow theLord will do wonders among you.” I believe Godwill accomplish wonders among the churches of theBMA of America. May God help us to pray, work,give, serve and believe - believe in ourselves and inHim.

On Monday night Allison Durham Speer willsing. The President’s Address will focus on our theme for the meeting:“Our First Concern: Making Disciples.” Matthew 28:18-20 is the text.Tuesday night the Central Baptist College Choir will sing, and BrotherSteve Crawley will preach the annual message. Wednesday night we willclose the meeting with the Missionary Commissioning Service. Woveninto these times of worship will be our business sessions. The businesssessions give us the opportunity to hear from our departments and agenciesand to hear of the things that are right and good in the BMA of America.Amen! The best is yet to come!

God bless you. Pray for the meeting. I love our brethren.Your friend,David Watkins, PresidentBaptist Missionary Association of America

David Watkins

TheGreat Escape

2007February 22 - 24, 2007

Make plans now to attend this year'sconference for Student Pastors andtheir wives. The Great Escape will beheld February 22-24 at the HiltonGarden Inn DFW Airport South inIrving, Texas. The theme for this yearis “R & R,” which stands for Revive& Restore. The need for personalrevival and restoration in our livespersonally, as families, and in ourministries is constant. To be able tosit back and take an honest look atthings in a peaceful and caring atmo-sphere is what you will find at GreatEscape. The goal is to provide teach-ing, worship, and free time for Stu-dent Pastors\Leaders and their spousesthat will ‘Revive and Restore!”

A block of rooms have been se-cured for Great Escape at Hilton Gar-den Inn through February 8. To makeyour reservations call the Hilton at972-313-2800. Reservations after thecutoff will be accepted based on avail-ability. Room rate is $79 plus tax withtwo to a room and includes a fullbreakfast each morning. Registrationis $50 per person by February 8 or$60 after deadline. Register online atwww.dcmstudents.org or print a reg-istration form and mail to DCM.

Pastors, invest in your Youth Staffby sending them to Department ofChurch Ministries Great Escape.DCM looks forward to ministering tothem for a change. Call the DCMoffice with any questions at 501-513-3726.

BMA Missionariesto Africa planningfurlough

John and Margaret Lindsey will bein America on furlough beginning onMarch 18 till June 10. If you wouldlike to hear what God is doing throughthe BMA in Africa, contact John andMargaret atjclins@africaonline.com.gh orrustyjohn3@earthlink.net. You mayalso write to John Lindsey, P.O. Box5553, Kumasi, Ghana. Our hometelephone number is 011-00233-20-850-0926. If you telephone pleaseremember that Ghana is 6 hours aheadof Central Standard time. When it is12:00 noon in Central Standard Timeit is 6:00 PM inGhana.

Margaret and I look forward tosharing God's work in Africa withyour entire congregation during Sun-day worship, Sunday School, WMA,Galileans, GMA, AWANA, VBS,Local or State association meetings ,missions emphasis programs, or othermeetings and gatherings.Serving Jesus with you,John Lindsey

Baptist History Celebration - 2007An unprecedented meeting on Baptist history will be held on

August 1-3, 2007 at the historic First Baptist Church of Charleston,South Carolina.

Five years in preparation, this meeting will feature an interestingarray of topics and speakers in commemoration of the founding ofthe Philadelphia Baptist Association in 1707.

The steering committee, made up of Baptists from over 20different Baptist groups (including the late Hal McNeill, Thom South,and Philip Bryan from BMA Seminary), would like to invite you to visitthe web page below for program information and registration.Seating is limited, so we urge you to register right away.

We hope your love and interest in our Baptist heritage will lead youto be a part of this historical meeting. BMA Seminary credit may bearranged for students who attend the program events and completespecial assignments. Contact Philip Bryan at philipbryan@bmats.eduor Philip Attebery at bmatsem@bmats.edu for complete information.

Professors Bryan and South will lead "breakout" sessions onThursday afternoon relating to Baptist Preachers and "Landmark"Writers.

The web page address for the Celebration is: http://www.baptisthistorycelebration.org.

and their agendas, would be exempt,Dobson noted. Soros has pledged that"the central focus of mylife" is the defeat of Bush and hisideology, and he contributed millionsof dollars to that effort in the mostrecent presidential election.

Dobson did include a warning toWashington in his plea to listeners forhelp. He reminded listeners about thecampaign conducted by former HouseSpeaker Tom Daschle when he was inpower, and "was doing everything hecould to keep the president from get-ting judges appointed."

When Focus and other organiza-tions asked listeners to comment, of-ficials in Washington simply turnedtheir telephones off. In the next elec-tion voters in South Dakota refused toreturn Daschle to office.

"We know where he's not, he's not

Free Speechfrom page 3

in the Senate. I think it's because ofpeople who were informed of thekind of shenanigans he was pulling,"Dobson said.

Bauer said people need to speakup now, "or we may never have an-other program like this."

The plan was introduced on Janu-ary 4 and has been laid before theSenate, where several amendmentsare pending, by unanimous consent,in its most recent action, officialssaid.

Reid, in introducing what he called"The Legislative Transparency andAccountability Act of 2007," saidpeople all remember the scandals inWashington involving corruption,gifts and special interest influences.

"These stories have a corrosiveeffect on the great institution in whichwe serve. We must make sure they arenever repeated, by reassuring theAmerican people that legislation can'tbe traded..." he said.

Your Special Gift in January Is Appreciated

Our Need - $10,000

January 2007

Special Emphasis

Mississippi BaptistDon Brown

Editor

5January 15, 2007 • Mississippi Baptist

The Great EscapeStudent pastors Conference

February 22-24, 2007Hilton Garden Inn, DFW

Irving, TexasRegistration is $50. per person by February 8 deadline

Hotel Room Rate is $79 per night by February 8 at 972-313-2800Visit us online at www.dcmstudetns.org to Register

DCM Office - 501-513-3726

Former BMA pastor

O.N. Jefcoatpasses away

Bro. Olen Norvelle Jefcoat, 65, ofLaurel, died Sunday, January 7, 2007,at his residence.

Funeral services were held atWednesday, January 10, at MemoryChapel Funeral Home in Laurel, withburial in Good Hope Cemetery inJones County. Rev. Leon Carmicaland Harold Floyd conducted the ser-vice.

Bro. Jefcoat served 40 years in theministry and pastored BMA churchesthroughout Mississippi until his healthbegan to fail. He was a member ofBerean Missionary Baptist Church inSoso. He served in the United StatesArmy Reserve and was a Mason anda member of the Ovett Lodge.

He was preceded in death by hisparents, the Rev. Olen and ArcolaStringer Jefcoat, and a son, DouglasD. Jefcoat.

He is survived by his wife, JeanJones Jefcoat of Laurel; two sons anda daughter-in-law, Jason and GinnyJefcoat of Seminary and MichaelJefcoat of Smyrna, Georgia; a daugh-ter and son-in-law, Melody and EricEzell of Soso; four grandchildren,Adam Ezell, Alyssa Ezell, Will Jefcoatand Ella Grace Jefcoat; and a brotherand sister-in-law, Gayle and JoanJefcoat of Mobile, Alabama. Pall-bearers will be Larry Jefcoat, RogerJefcoat, Stanley Jefcoat, Dr. LanceJefcoat, Ronald Jefcoat and SonnyJefcoat.

Editor’s note: Bro. Jefcoat wasmy pastor briefly while he served atParkview Baptist Church, Laurel. Hewas a friend to his church membersand loved to preach and pastor. Hispresence will be missed and ourprayers go out to Jean and their entirefamily.

Family ArkMinistries

Travis Plumlee

www.travisplumlee.com

Let’s Roll Up Our Sleeves and Get Busy!We have a new year, and a new

opportunity to serve the Lord andgrow into conformity to the image ofChrist. We don't want to be busy justfor busy-sake. We don't want to over-commit and fill our days with busywork that serves no purpose for thekingdom. Therefore, we must havean action plan. We must have somegoals and a desire to work at them tofulfillment.

Limited goals create limited lives.Dream big for God this year and dareto have visions for His glory. If youhave no specific action plan, then youwill just be adrift in 2007, and thisyear will not be much different thanany previous year. It is the definitionof insanity to keep doing things theway we have always done them andexpect different results. Determinethat 2007 will be a year of maturity,change, growth and spirit-filled workfor the Kingdom of Christ.

First off, we must desire to growspiritually and increase in wisdomfrom God. We do this by increasingour study of the Word. I do not wantany of you to read your Bible in 2007.I want you to STUDY the Bible toshow yourself approved. Study it!Think about the message God is try-ing to give you. If you are unable to dothis, you might go to the Christianbookstore and get a Bible study bookthat helps explain scripture to you.These books, while useful, can nevertake the place of being in God's Word.Use them as a resource to help giveyou insight into scripture.

Which scripture study guide is bestfor you depends upon where you areon the road of Christian living. Weare all at different places on the path

of righteousness. The important thingis not trying to go really fast and passevery one you know. That is fleshly tothink of trying to be smarter or more

wise than other Christians. Try to bethe best you can be for the glory of theLord. Try and grow in your Biblicalknowledge for the purpose of beingbetter equipped to serve God.

Some people are further down theroad of Christian maturity than youare, but that is okay. All that reallymatters is that we are all still walkingtoward Christ. It is when we stopwalking and growing that it becomesa problem.

Establish a ministry that you doevery single month. Do you serve thebride of Christ? That of course is thechurch. How do you serve yourchurch? There is something you coulddo. If you see a need in the church,meet that need in 2007. Do you havea growing concern for the spiritualand temporal needs of others? Whatare you doing to help others? Some-times, it is our opportunity to serveGod by helping someone gain somespiritual growth by something we sayor do. However, sometimes, God usesus to further His cause by meetingtemporal needs of people.

How do you and your church meet

the needs for food, shelter and cloth-ing in your community? How do youand your church minister to those injail, in hospitals, in nursing homes, inshelters and half-way houses? Somepeople erroneously think it is thepastor's job to visit the hospitals andnursing homes. Some think it is theyouth workers role to reach out to thehurting, drug and alcohol consumingyoung people of the community. Somethink it is the role of United Wayagencies to give food and clothing tothe poor. How wrong is this thinking?Jesus commands all of us as Chris-tians to be engaged in this work. ReadMatthew 25: 34-46.

Do you have widows and widow-ers in your church? How do you takecare of them as we are commanded inJames Chapter 1:27. The opportuni-

ties to serve Jesus and bear fruit areboundless. Set a new year goal ofministering to the local church, and tothe needs of the community at large.Start a mentorship group for a selectgroup of people. Start a food bank.Meet both the spiritual and temporalneeds of those around you, and youwill bless the Lord.

Now after you have resolved toserve the Lord and grow spiritually,then you can attend to some goals thatare still important, but not as high apriority. Set goals to grow mentally. Itook my mentorship guys to theKimball Art Museum in Fort Worth,Texas so they could see the masterpaintings and how they depict mostlyreligious themes. The baptism ofJesus, Abraham sacrificing Isaac, theCrucifixion etc. Challenge your mindwith something that you don't nor-mally do.

Learn a foreign language, or learn

to make something. You are nevertoo old or too dumb to do these things.Stop putting yourself down. That rightthere would be a good place to starton emotional growth in 2007. Stopbeating yourself up. Study a Chris-tian book and learn how to communi-cate better, break free from grief, growthrough divorce or learn to controlyour anger. There are many areas youcould set out to grow through withGod's help in these areas.

Finally, if you want to, you canhave a goal to start exercising andlosing weight. If the Lord leads you toget healthier by exercise, then go forit. If you are just vain, forget it. We aretoo obsessed in this country withlooks. Dieting and exercise to behealthier is Christian. Doing it be-cause you hate how you look is fleshly.Be healthy, but enjoy eating as well.I give you permission to occasionallyeat a big ole steak dinner with a loadedbake potato, bread and a chocolateand caramel covered anything.

Now, let's roll up our sleeves andget busy growing and serving Jesus.2007 means He is that much closer toreturning. We must get busy. It is nowor never. Ready, set, grow!

Navy dismisses chaplainwho prayed 'in Jesus' name'We are homeless, jobless, and we are in God's hands'

A U.S. Navy chaplain who prayed"in Jesus' name" as his consciencedictated is being ejected from themilitary service "in retaliation" forhis victorious battle to change Navypolicy that required religious rites be"non-sectarian."

"This fight cost me everything.My career is over, my family is nowhomeless, we've lost a million dollarpension, but Congress agreed withme and rescinded the Navy policy, sochaplains are free again to pray inJesus' name," Chaplain GordonKlingenschmitt told WND. "My sac-rifice purchased their freedom. Myconscience is clear, the fight was worthit, and I'd do it all again."

Klingenschmitt has fought an ex-tended battle with the Navy over itsrestrictions on religious expressionby its chaplains. He appeared anddelivered a public prayer "in Jesus'name" at a White House rally lastwinter and was court-martialed forthat. The Navy convicted him of fail-ing to follow a lawful order becausehis superior didn't want him praying"in Jesus' name."

He's also launched a legal battlethat he said he hopes eventually willresult in his reinstatement, allegingthe Navy assembled a "civic religion"by ordering its chaplains to pray in acertain way.

"There's a Unitarian system of re-ligion that's aimed at Christians," JohnWhitehead, founder of the The Ruth-erford Institute, told WND. "It boilsdown to that. We're seeing it all acrossthe country, with council prayers, kidswanting to mention Jesus. What'sgoing on here is it's generally a movein our government and military to setup a civic religion."

"I think the Supreme Court's goingto have to look at the idea of can thegovernment in any of its forms tellpeople how to pray, set up a basic

religion and say you can only do it thisway," he said.

Klingenschmitt said he'd been de-livered a formal letter of reprimandfor his appearance at a White Housefunction in March 2006 at which hewore his uniform and prayed "in Jesus'

name." For that he was convicted at aspecial court-martial of violating alawful order from his commandingofficer not to do that.

His appearance was with formerAlabama Supreme Court Chief Jus-tice and WND columnist Judge RoyMoore, who was removed from hisoffice when he refused to follow afederal court order he considered un-lawful: to remove a Ten Command-ments monument from public prop-erty.

Klingenschmitt's $3,000 fine wassuspended and because of the issues,Congress got involved and orderedthe Navy to rescind that particularpolicy, and allow chaplains to pray astheir "conscience dictates."

In a Congressional report on thesituation, members of a conference

continued on page 6

Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt

6 January 15, 2007 • Mississippi Baptist

P.O. Box 4247, Laurel, Mississippi 39441 • (601) 649-0502Email - youthdept@bmaofmsyouth.org

LATRELLE WINDHAMDIRECTOR

Having taught school and havingthree other teachers in my immediatefamily, certainly I understand theimportance of reading. In fact the bestway to motivate children and teenag-ers to read, is to read to them and withthem. Something I noticed about mytwo sons-in-law is, that they read totheir children, not only the Bible butother good books. What better way isthere, than reading the Word of Godtogether as a family.

Some blessings of reading the

Word are repentance, it reminds us ofour duties, produces reformation inour lives and gives us knowledge ofprophecy.

I remember soon after I was saved,the first thing I began to do was readthe Bible. I had received a GideonNew Testament given away at school.I would read this New Testamentearly in the morning while waiting forthe school bus. It brought about re-pentance in my life early and it stillbrings repentance in my life now.

Reading the Word of God remindsme of my duty in a number of areas. Itreminds me of my duty to God, fam-ily, my church, and my country. It hasbrought about reformation in my char-acter that helps me in making gooddecisions. Reading God's Word dailyhelps me to understand things that arepast, the present and what is to takeplace in the future.

What are the reactions to readingthe Word of God? When a personinvites Jesus into his heart by faith,the Holy Spirit, which is God him-self, comes into his heart. The HolySpirit works through the Word in ourlives and brings response to His will.

When some people read or hearthe Word of God, they reject it. Justbecause people reject it, doesn't makeit any less powerful. Some rebellagainst the teachings of Christ, butmany also received the Word.

Some people want us to read it tothem. The Holy Spirit again worksthrough it and convicts men of sinand the need of salvation.

We all need to search the Worddaily. We need to grow in our knowl-edge of the Word.

Read the Bible often!

2007 Theme - "Time - A Time to Read"

Summer Camp Schedule 2007

Tombigbee, Judson, June 4,5,6, 2007Tombigbee State Park

Harmony,Tishomingo State Park June 18, 19, 20, 2007

South Central Junior Camp,Gulf Coast Community College June 27, 28, 29, 2007

State Junior High, Senior,Gulf Coast Community College July 11,12,13, 2007

Camp

Season

2007

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University of Southern MississippiTuesdays 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Cochran Center Room 2291st Meeting is January 23, 2007

Jones County Junior CollegeWednesdays 7:50AM-8:20AM

Museum Room Library1st Meeting, Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Southeastern Baptist CollegeMondays 9:30AM - 10:00AM

Cafeteria Room1st Meeting January 22, 2007

committee noted, "The House billcontained a provision … to prescribethat military chaplains shall have theprerogative to pray according to thedictates of their conscience, except asmust be limited by military necessity,with any such limitation being im-posed in the least restrictive mannerfeasible." That position was adoptedwith orders that the "Secretary of theNavy rescind Secretary of the NavyInstruction 1730.7C dated February21, 2006, titled 'Religious Ministrywithin the Department of the Navy'"and replace it with a policy allowingsuch freedoms.

Secretary of Defense DonaldRumsfeld also then promised Con-gress that no chaplain would be pun-ished under the now-cancelled policy,but the Navy's plans to get rid ofKlingenschmitt moved forward any-way.

A federal judge in Klingenschmitt'slawsuit also concluded that his termi-nation from the service and the dam-

age that would result would not be"irreparable," so he would not step inat this point, and Klingenschmitt wasdelivered a Navy letter this week or-dering him to move out of his home inconjunction with his removal fromthe service.

"Access onto all military installa-tions within Navy Region Mid-At-lantic for Lieutenant Gordon J.Klingenschmitt, CHC, USNR, willterminate on January 31, 2007," saidthe letter from S.W. Wong, who iswith the Judge Advocate General'sCorp.

While he's battling for reinstate-ment, Klingenschmitt said, he'll beaccepting speaking invitations andcan be contacted through his website,and working with supporters AlanKeyes and Rick Scarborough whohave assembled an online petitionthat calls on new Secretary of De-fense Robert Gates to honorRumsfeld's promise that no chaplainwould be punished under the oldpolicy.

"U.S. Navy Chaplain GordonJames Klingenschmitt is being un-justly punished for praying in Jesus'name, for quoting Scripture passagesin a military chapel, for voicing evan-gelical messages about Christ whilein uniform," the petition says.

"Chaplain Klingenschmitt coura-geously stood for what is right, andhis stand was completely vindicatedby Congress. I am calling on you toimmediately exonerate him and al-low him to continue his outstandingservice as a Navy chaplain. Mr. Sec-retary, you must act! And fast! Other-wise Chaplain Klingenschmitt willbe kicked out of the service by Jan.31, ending an award-winning 15.5-year career. He will lose his pension,health care benefits and be evictedfrom military housing – and our sail-ors will lose this faithful vicar ofChrist."

"I think the Secretary of Defense,Robert Gates, should keep the prom-ise of his predecessor," the chaplaintold WND. "We are homeless, job-less and we are in God's hands."

"My separation is in direct retalia-tion for my victory on Capitol Hill.This is how the Navy treatswhistleblowers," he added.

In the lawsuit filed by the Ruther-ford Institute, the authors noted thatcourts in the District of Columbiaalready have concluded: "What wehave here is the government's attemptto override the Constitution and thelaws of the land by a directive thatclearly interferes with military chap-lains' free exercise and free speechrights, as well as those of theircongregants."

The case developed when "oneNavy Captain decided that he did notlike the content of the Chaplain's re-ligious speech during an optionallyattended sermon in the chapel," thelawsuit said. Then a Navy investiga-

Navy dismisses chaplainfrom page 5

continued on page 7

7January 15, 2007 • Mississippi Baptist

CHILDREN'S HOME118 LOWE ROAD, LAUREL, MISSISSIPPI 39443 - (601) 426-3928

SIDNEY DAVISDIRECTOR

Galilean camp nearsHappy New Year! I find it a great honor

and privilege to serve as the new GalileanState Promoter. This has been a desire thatGod has placed on my heart. I would like tothank the State Brotherhood for this positionin this ministry. So now that the formalities are over with let's get towork.

The dates for State Galilean Camp are March 16-17 and the campwill be held at Lake Tiak O’Khata in Louisville. We will be havingAndy Pittman leading us in worship and Scott Pittman bringing usGod's unchangeable Word. I know that camp is less than 3 monthsaway, but I ask if you would start praying that God will move at thiscamp and that souls would be saved and hearts changed to advance thekingdom of God. If you have any young men who are going to berunning for Senior or Junior Galilean please call me or email me theirinformation.

I would really like a big turn out at camp this year. If you have aGalilean ministry at your church please makes contact with me forcamp information and so I can put your church in our reach out list.

Our theme for 2007 is this "Galileans - It's not what you think".Most churches and people view the Galilean ministry as just memo-rizing and book reports and we need to change that view. I would liketo share with other churches and other Galilean leaders across the statewhere I think God is leading this ministry. I have watched God at ourown church grow this ministry from 3 young men and 1 leader to 25young men to 3 leaders. Please call me or email me at 601-740-3836or 601-916-2013 with email to taggard@bellsouth.net.

Mississippi GalileansPete Taggard, State Galilean Promoter

5565 Hwy 43 NorthCarriere, MS 39426

Expressions of SympathyWe would like to express our sym-

pathy to the families of Bro. EdwardHolloway and Bro. Norvelle Jefcoat.Both of these menwere faithful ser-vants in the Lord’swork. Their pres-ence will be missed.Our thoughts andprayers are with theHolloway familyand the Jefcoatfamily during thistime of loss andsorrow.

Jesus Could Come in 2007What a tremendous thought! Can

you imagine what that would be like?May we use the time God has given uswisely. 1 Thessalonians 5:6 says,“Therefore let us not sleep as do oth-ers; but let us watch and be sober.”

If you really want to make wise useof your life, then live it in the knowl-edge that the return of Jesus is immi-nent. You know, He may come in2007 for His own.

Food and Miscellaneous RallyIt was good to be with the Wash-

ington Baptist Association which metwith the Corinth Baptist Church nearLucedale and Pastor Jeff Bass onDecember 15 for their annual rally forthe Children’s Home. I had the op-portunity to preach a message fromGod’s Word after giving a report on

the ministry of the Home. We want tosay “ thank you” to each church andindividual who helped make this rallya good success.

Special OfferingsSpecial offerings received are as

follow: Huey & Joann Wise, Carriere,$500; George & Glenda Auvil,Lucedale, $200; Anonymous Giver,$1,000; Good Hope, Columbia, $593;East Fulton Fellowship S. S. Class,Fulton, $75; Pilgrim Rest, Leakesville,$695; Salem, Bay Springs, $458;Alfred & Maria Pugh, Stringer, $100;Ned & Jamie Hinton, Laurel, $200;Anonymous Giver, $3,650; Corinth,Lucedale, $875; Harmony, Hurley,$100; Jason & Tina Anders, Lucedale,$50; Canaan, Lucedale, $300; Cecil& Ada Ruth Harris, Lucedale, $20;Buffalo, McLain, $140; Washington,Neely, $421; Leakesville, Leakesville,$200; Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Pugh,Louin, $120; Oak Grove, Mantachie,$100; Lee’s Chapel #2, Picayune,$99.30; Sand Hill, Lucedale, $250;Patricia Ramshur, Columbia, $100;Sycamore, Carriere, $20.75; Wilder-ness, Vicksburg, $122.27; F. B. ShadyGrove, Laurel, $800; Temple, Biloxi,$500; Biloxi Creek, Perkinston, $693;Mt. Calvary Auditorium S. S. Class,Picayune, $50; New Bethany,Ellisville, $200; New Bethany Broth-erhood, Ellisville, $30; Paramount,Perkinston, $284.68. We appreciateeach of these special gifts.

Residence Inn/Marriott3005 S. 74th St.Standard, Studio Suite $891-479-478-8300Two Bedroom Suite $129

Courtyard by Marriott900 Rogers Avenue$119.00

Registering for the above hotes youneed to identify that you are with theBMAA.

Other Hotels

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Baymont Inn I-540

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AnnualMeeting Hotels

from page 8tion showed Klingenschmitt hadprayed "in Jesus' name" and had evenprayed in public in uniform. For that,the court-martial was held, "ignoringNaval Uniform Regulations that per-mit chaplains to wear the uniformduring public worship."

The lawsuit notes that the Navy isusing the chaplain's resignation fromone "ecclesiastical endorsement" andacceptance of another from a differ-ent church group as its reason forterminating him. However, the law-suit notes that the Navy's own regula-tions state that a chaplain "shall" berecertified on request.

In apparent conflict, a letter fromJ.C. Harvey Jr., a vice-admiral, order-ing Klingenschmitt's removal fromthe Navy, opined that "presentationof a new ecclesiastical endorsementfrom a qualified Religious Organiza-tion does not automatically mandaterecertification."

The district court judge also found,in ruling against the chaplain, that inthe military "public worship" is dif-ferent from "worshipping in public,"so that the Navy's punishment couldmove forward.

-fro mWorldNetDaily

Chaplainfrom page 6

Rudenessby Brother Ritechus N. Dignation(The alter ego of Bro. Joseph Harris)

I'm fired up...again. There's somethings in life I can do without: a carwreck, the measles, rap music, andrude people. I want to focus on thatlast one - rude people. Rudeness hasalmost become a badge of honor insociety. Sometimes I wonder if somefolks don't try to be as rude as pos-sible. There ain't never no reason forbeing rude, ugly or condeeesendingto others. We are all created in God'simage. Why I've been around somepeople, Christians at that, who treatedme like a piano at a Cambellite con-vention (for you young'uns, aCambellite is a member of the Churchof Christ).

Now let's talk about preachers.Why not, ever'body does every Sun-day after church at the dinner table.Let's just make it official. I remem-ber one particular preacher who lefta mark on me early in my ministry. Iran into a preacher brother in townwho was having lunch with a man I'llcall Brother Rude. As I talked withmy friend, he introduced me to thisother brother. The guy didn't speakto me or acknowledge that I waseven standing there. He just gave mea look and kept eating. I spoke di-rectly to him and forced him to lookat me again, but he never uttered asyllable. He just kept chowing down.Not only was he rude to me, he couldhave used some table manners onhow to act at the trough. I tried togive him the benefit of the doubt andjust figured maybe I wasn't a bigenough fish in the 'So sa shun’ forhim to swim with. I always won-dered if he treated his sheep thisway.

Then there's the folks who arepaid to be nice to you, but treat youlike last months buttermilk. Clerks,tellers, cashiers, waiters and wait-resses and others, all come underthis category. I was once served asandwich at a café that had a chunkof mold on the bun as big as a threeinch flat washer, plus the meat wascold as a two day old tater. I calledthe waitress over, showed her theexcuse for a sandwich and asked foranother. She took it back, returnedwith another and doggone if it didn'thave some mold on it. When I calledher back, she looked at me, snatchedthe sandwich , brought me a thirdone and began to walk away. Istopped her and said, "Hold on. Aren'tyou even going to say you're sorry?"She never did.

I have to remind myself of myChristian duty to these folks. It'scalled forbearance. As I said at thebeginning, there's never a call to berude to anyone, even when they'vebeen ugly to you. If that person islost, then we need to be an example.If they claim to be saved, well, one ofus ought to act like a Christian.

8 January 15, 2007 • Mississippi Baptist

BMA of Mississippi

MISSIONS DEPARTMENT4226 HIGHWAY 15 NORTH, LAUREL, MISSISSIPPI 39440 - (601) 428-8616

Rayburn Freeman, Director

Monday Morning, April 16, 2007Display / Exhibit Set-Up (Monday - Wednesday) Exhibit Hall CRegistration Set-up (Enrolment and Finance Committee)

Monday Evening7:00 PM First General Session Exhibit Hall B

MusicBMAA Seminary RepresentativeWelcome by PresidentIntroduction of OfficersWelcome Petitioning Churches Seating their MessengersIntroduction of Host PastorsConcert: Allison Durham SpeerPresident’s Message & Introduction of ThemeMusic - Congregational Hymn

Tuesday Morning, April 17, 20077:15 - 8:15 Ministers Wives and Widow’s Coffee To be announced8:00 - 8:30 WMA Registration Lobby/ Ballroom8:30 AM WMA Ballroom8:30 AM Brotherhood Exhibit Hall B10:00 AM Pastor’s and Laymen’s Conference Exhibit Hall B10:00 AM Youth Minister’s Gathering Exhibit Hall A 1

Tuesday Afternoon, (Called Meetings)1:30 PM Committee Meetings

BMF Fayetteville RoomBMA Seminary Bentonville RoomDepartment of Church Resources Rogers RoomEvaluation Committee Springdale RoomMoral Action Committee Exhibit Hall A 2Missions Judge Parkers RoomNominating Tulsa Room

Tuesday Afternoon, April 17, 20073:00 PM Second General Session Exhibit Hall B

MusicBMAA Seminary Representative

3:20 PM Enrollment Committee (Initial Report)3:30 PM Proposed Changes to the Constitution4:00 PM Clerk’s Report4:10 PM Master’s Builders Report4:20 PM BMAA Seminary Report4:55 PM BMAA Seminary Representative

Closing PrayerAdjourn

Tuesday Evening, April 17, 20077:00 PM Third General Session Exhibit Hall B

MusicBMAA Seminary RepresentativeCentral Baptist College ChoirAnnual Message: Steve Crawley

Alternate: Scott AtteberyAdjourn

Wednesday Morning, April 18, 20078:30 AM Fourth General Session Exhibit Hall B

MusicBMAA Seminary Representative

8:45 AM Brotherhood Report8:50 AM WMA Report9:00 AM Nominating Committee Report9:20 AM Coordinating Council Report9:50AM Election of Officers

Election of Annual Speaker10:10 AM Department of Church Resources10:40 AM Evaluation Committee (Salary)11:10 AM Committee on Arrangements11:25 AM Baptist Music Fellowship Report11:35 AM Pastor’s and Laymen’s Conference Report11:50 AM BMAA Seminary Representative

Adjourn

Wednesday Afternoon, April 18, 20072:00 PM Fifth General Session Exhibit Hall B

MusicBMAA Seminary Representative

2:15 PM Moral Action Committee Report2:45 PM LifeWord Broadcast Ministries3:15 PM Final Nominating Committee Report3:25 PM Recording Secretary’s Report3:55 PM Minutes and Clerk Hire4:00 PM Ministers Resource Services Report

Final Enrollment Committee Report4:30 PM Miscellaneous Business4:55 PM BMAA Seminary Representative

Adjourn

Wednesday Evening, April 18, 20077:00 PM Sixth General Session Exhibit Hall B

MusicMissions Department ReportRevolving Loan Fund Report58th Annual Session ClosedMissionary Commissioning ServiceClosing Prayer

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Nursery Razorback Room

Registration ScheduleMonday 2-4 PM 6-7 PM & 30 min after sessionTuesday 8:30 - 9:00 AM

2:00 - 3:00 PM6:30 - 7:00 PM & 30 min after session

Wed. 8:00 - 8:30 AM

Missionary NotesBro. Duvall and Homestretch of Cleve-

land reports 22 homes visited, 20 soul talks,24 average atten-dance with a$1,374.15 offer-ing for the monthof December.Homestretch ismoving towardsecuring prop-erty in Clevelandand consideringplans to con-struct a buildingwithin the cur-rent year. Thosewho are inter-ested in helping this mission may contact himthrough the mission office or by calling Bro.Ed at cell # 662-402-8222.

Bro. Garcia and First Hispanic Baptistof Ripley are excited to have Mrs. Wendy back

after a month va-cation with herfamily in Guate-mala. From theMissions Office,Welcome backMrs. Wendy!Bro. Garcia re-ports 24 homesvisited , 2 soultalks, 2 profes-sions of faith, 27

average attendance, with offering for the monthtotaling $865.60.

Bro. Marroquin and El Camino of Lau-rel reports 26 homes visited, 36 soul talks, 4professions offaith, 39 averageattendance and amonthly offeringof $4,535.67.They plan to be-gin preparationsfor the construc-tion of a build-ing, hoping tostart no latter thanApril of this year.They now havenearly $30,000 including what they have savedand others have given. For those who wouldlike to help this growing mission contact theMissions Office or Bro. Marroquin at Cell #601-433-0085.

Bro. Joseph and Maple Street of Colum-bus, report 48homes visited, anaverage of 29 inattendance with amonthly offeringof $1,563.00. Bro.Joseph is on a twoweek trip to Nigerato take care ofsome necessarybusiness and visitwith his familythere.

Wallace Williams,Divine Grace Mission, Long Beach

I want to thank our Lord and the people ofthe BMA of Mississippi for helping us have asuccessful year in 2006. We faced manyobstacles, but obstacles are just opportunitiesfor God to work. Thank you for you love andcontinued support.

During the month of November we aver-aged 42 in worship and had one addition. KenAngus joined and he plays the bass guitar andhas been added out our music part of theworship. In December we averaged 31 inworship and had one addition. Joey Ladnerjoined and he is always ready to give testimonyof how God had blessed his life. We thankGod for these men.

We are trying to finish the educational partof our building this month so we can startmeeting in the dining hall. We hope to have an

electrical andceiling inspec-tion by the 10thof January. Thenwe can finish in-stalling the ceil-ing tile, hangdoors, installbathroom fix-tures, and finishpain6tin thewalls. It looks

like we will begin meeting before we get ourfloor covering on and the kitchen cabinets andappliances in place.

All the sheetrock has been hung and fin-ished in the other part of the building whichconsists of two bathrooms, two offices and thesanctuary. We will have to wait on finishingthis part until we complete the other and savesome more money.

Thank you for your support, prayers, andmonetary contributions. We are not throughyet, so please don’t give up on us. We needyour continued support and I promise you thatGod will have a church in the Long Beach areathat you can be proud to be a part of. We loveyou. Come visit when you can.

“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: TheLord make his face to shine upon thee, and begracious unto thee: The Lord lift up hiscountenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”Numbers 6:24-26.

Kevin Marr, LifePointe Mission, HernandoGod has truly blesses us with an amazing

year at LifePointe! Admittedly, it did not workquite like weplanned at thebeginning of2006, but thenagain we do notever work ac-cording to ourplans, but to onethat are muchhigher than ourown. With 90%of our remodel-ing job completeand a renewed focus on the vision that God hasgiven us for building His church in DeSotoCounty, we truly believe that 2007 is going to

be our best year yet.We have set some lofty, yet attainable goals

for the New Year with a belief that God isgoing to help us fulfill them in His time andaccording to His plan. We already have almost20 people signed up for our Encountering Godretreat on January 12th and 13th. This isexciting, because this retreat is the beginningof a six month discipleship plan that we haveput together for new believers and for newmembers. Our prayer is that God uses thisretreat as a springboard for an incredible year.Please pray with us as we strive to reach lostpeople and then disciple them to maturity andto a place of leadership within our local mis-sion.

We have also planned an outreach Sundayfor the last Sunday in January. This is a greatday for us, because we not only worship to-gether, but we also enjoy a potluck meal to-gether and then go out in to the neighborhoodsnear the LifePointe campus and knock ondoors inviting people to come to church thenext Sunday. While only a few of those visitedactually show up, it seems that God blesses theeffort with guests that we have never met orvisited. It is an awesome way to get everyoneinvolved in the growth of our mission church.

Thanks again for all that you do to makeLifePointe a success. I know that it was alwaysrefreshing to start a New Year, and my prayeris that our mission work will fulfill every goalthat you have se for it in 2007.

Bro. & Mrs. Elvis Garcia

Ed Duvall Family

Bro. & Mrs. Kevin Marr

Bro. & Mrs.Wallace Williams

Bro. & Mrs. EstuardoMarraquin

Bro. Joseph Oyeleye

58th Annual

BMA of Ameirca National MeetingApril 16-18, 2007

Fort Smith Convention Center

Fort Smith, Arkansas

Hotels for 2007 BMAA MeetingHoliday Inn City Center700 Rogers AveStandard Doubles, King $671-479-783-1000

Howard Johnson101 N 11th St.Queen Outside Corridor $581-479-494-7700Double Outside Corridor $68King Inside/Outside $74Suite Room $84

Comfort Inn2120 Burnham RoadStandard or Double $89.99I-540 and Rogers Ave.1-479-484-0227

Hampton Inn6201-C Rogers Ave.Single, Double $1091-479-452-2000Suite $129

Aspen Hotel & Suites2900 South 68th St.Single, Double $109.991-479-452-9000

Hotels Continued on Page 7